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Wasted Creativity in the GNU/Linux Distribution Diversity

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Re: Wasted Creativity in the GNU/Linux Distribution Diversity

#11

Post by markstos »

Bah. Diversity is good for the ecosystem.

Do you complain about the plants and animals with only minor differences as being redundant, a waste of evolutionary effort?

Just a generation ago there was understanding that we had let too much power accumulate into too few large, multi-national corporations.

Then we got a chance to start over with the internet and new digital companies. How quickly we repeated the same mistakes. Now we have trillion dollar tech companies and wonder if they've gotten too big, too centralized.

What cognitive dissonance to bemoan the consolidated power of just a few FAANG companies while also complaining that the diversity in open source software isn't the kind of diversity you'd like to see.

Re: Wasted Creativity in the GNU/Linux Distribution Diversity

#16

Post by jlarocco »

Not this self-centered, ignorant complaint again.

Even if this time really is 100% wasted, it's not your wasted time, so it's none of your business anyway. Open source devs don't owe your their time, and you're not entitled to tell them what to work on.

But the time isn't wasted, in any case. If existing solutions met people's needs the alternatives wouldn't have been created. A huge project like a desktop manager or a Linux distribution doesn't get spun up on a whim because somebody doesn't like a desktop background, and it's telling that that's the only difference the author notices.

Re: Wasted Creativity in the GNU/Linux Distribution Diversity

#17

Post by giancarlostoro »

a3n wrote: post #10
jotm wrote: post #2

One can dream... Linux would've replaced Windows by now if that happened.

What sales force would have caused Linux to be the default on mainstream hardware?

I mean it is already ona number of Dells. If Canonical and Steam focused their efforts they could produce a reasonable offering. I wish Steam would not focus on an entire Distro and just focus on making a specific distros underlying OS usable on plenty of hardware. AMD had an opportunity to work with Steam and Canonical to plant itself as a serious Linux competitor to Nvidia too.

Re: Wasted Creativity in the GNU/Linux Distribution Diversity

#18

Post by mimixco »

I don't think the problem is too many options. This is one of the great benefits of the free market.

The biggest problem with Linux distros, IMHO, is that nobody has really created a packaged install that's simple for users to get running. Ubuntu is ahead of the pack but there are still many issues... creating a USB boot stick, using Ubuntu under Windows, accessing your network with a VPN -- those a just a few I've experienced.

Until a Linux distro gets to the level of packaged, simple installation like users enjoy with Windows and Macs, the operating system won't take off on the desktop. And that's a real shame. We need open source software more than ever.

Perhaps there's room in the market for just one more distro that can solve this!

Re: Wasted Creativity in the GNU/Linux Distribution Diversity

#19

Post by yarosv »

markstos wrote: post #14
a3n wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What sales force would have caused Linux to be the default on mainstream hardware?

Google. Shipping Chrome OS.

Chrome OS is not Linux, or I should say GNU/Linux (although this name lost its meaning too). Just like Android is not Linux either.
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